Vance: Ukraine and Russia must accept territorial swaps to end war

US Vice President JD Vance said on April 23 that Washington has put forward a “very explicit proposal” to both Ukraine and Russia as part of its push to broker a peace agreement and end the ongoing war.

Speaking to reporters in India following a visit to the Taj Mahal, Vance suggested that territorial compromises will be essential for progress, Caliber.Az reports, referring to Bloomberg.

“It’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance said, underscoring the growing pressure for a resolution. “The current lines, somewhere close to them, is where you’re ultimately, I think, going to draw the new lines in the conflict,” he added. According to Vance, any deal would require both sides to relinquish control of some of the territory they currently hold.

Such a scenario would involve major concessions from Ukraine, which has consistently maintained its goal of reclaiming all territory occupied by Russia. That includes the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, as well as areas in eastern and southern Ukraine seized during Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

As previously reported by Bloomberg, the US is open to recognising Russia’s control over Crimea as part of a potential settlement and is also considering easing sanctions on Moscow. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated on Tuesday that Kyiv will not recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea, which remains internationally acknowledged as Ukrainian sovereign territory.

“There’s going to have to be some territorial swaps,” Vance acknowledged, though he added that the eventual border might not precisely match current front lines. “In order to get the killing to stop,” he said, “both sides need to put down their weapons, to freeze this thing, and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine.”

Vance's remarks come amid growing impatience in Washington. US President Donald Trump recently warned that the US may pull back from the peace process if a deal cannot be reached soon. Trump’s special envoy, Steven Witkoff, is expected to travel to Moscow later this week. Witkoff has already met with Russian President Vladimir Putin three times since Trump’s inauguration, describing their most recent meeting as “compelling.”

Despite the tensions, Vance said he remained “optimistic” about the talks. “I think everybody has negotiated in good faith so far,” he noted.

Meanwhile, a planned high-level meeting in London between senior officials from the US, Ukraine, and major European powers has been downgraded to technical-level talks. The shift came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio postponed his planned visit.

By Tamilla Hasanova